Every One of My Books Has Killed Me a Little More

October 9, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

*** You see the title there, and maybe that’s why you clicked over to see what’s going on here. If you did, please know I didn’t say that quote. It was said by the famous late writer, Norman Mailer. “Every one of my books has killed me a little more, ” he said. […]

Creating the Physical Space in which to Write

September 14, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

I N S P I R I N G S P A C E S One of the things we talked about in my college classroom recently is not only WHEN we find time to write, but WHERE we find time to write. I’m very lucky that our home came with a beautiful office that […]

FRIDAY FICTION – A Short Story from a Collection

May 26, 2017.Reading time 11 minutes.

*** They can’t all be happy endings. While my novels always tend to have a happy ending, my short stories do not. I don’t know why they go down this way. It seems to me like short stories—writing in the short form—allows you to write more pointedly, and that, in turn leads sometimes to unhappy […]

After I Was Dead — Friday Fiction

January 29, 2016.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’m taking another crack at Friday Fiction with a ghost story. I decided to push myself and try something entirely new. Writing ghost fiction…that sounds fun. I’ve never written a ghost story before, but I do enjoy reading them. The prompt from Brian Kiteley asks us to do the following: Write a story about a […]

Prettiness & Priorities

January 6, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

I don’t know about you, but I’m welcoming 2016 with open arms. While 2015 wasn’t awful or anything I want to forget, it was incredibly busy and hectic, more so than years in the past. Juggling the children’s schedules, my husband’s new job, the writing of a textbook with my two dear colleagues, and teaching […]

Let Scrooge In This Holiday Season

December 3, 2015.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’m crossing my fingers that my feature writing students will heed my advice and read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We talked about the book’s timeless appeal: a ghost story wrapped up in the idea of redemption at the holidays. When you study writing, it’s important to study all writers. Stephen King, in his […]

The Letter in the Desk | An Excerpt | Friday Fiction

November 13, 2015.Reading time 16 minutes.

* * * Unfortunately, this week I am too busy to write a new Friday Fiction post. However, I thought I would share a post I discuss with my students in class. I wrote this short piece called “The Letter in the Desk” when I was working on my MFA. The prompt, again from Brian […]

Friday Fodder | It’s Been a Good Week

September 4, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

Honorable Mention Award | Readers’ Favorite 2015 Whenever something you’ve written garners a little recognition, it’s a good thing. Getting another nod from Readers’ Favorite made my week, as Baseball Girl was a project I worked on for three years. Seeing it earn an award in the category of Sports Fiction made me happy, too. […]